Quality Measures for Behavioral Health Clinics Technical Specifications and Resource Manual Disclaimers

Use of the Quality Measures for Behavioral Health Clinics (BHC) Technical Specifications and Resource Manual is intended for use only by Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs), states, territories, tribal entities, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and their contractors for the CCBHC Model.

Copyright Notice

Use of the Quality Measures for Behavioral Health Clinics (BHC) Technical Specifications and Resource Manual indicates acceptance of the following applicable to all adjusted measures in this manual that are stewarded by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA):

NCQA Copyright Notice and Disclaimer

The HEDIS® [1The Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) is a registered trademark of NCQA.] measures and specifications were developed by and are owned by NCQA. The HEDIS measures and specifications are not clinical guidelines and do not establish a standard of medical care. NCQA makes no representations, warranties, or endorsement about the quality of any organization or physician that uses or reports performance measures and NCQA has no liability to anyone who relies on such measures and specifications. NCQA holds a copyright in these materials and can rescind or alter these materials at any time. These materials may not be modified by anyone other than NCQA. Use of the Rules for Allowable Adjustments of HEDIS to make permitted adjustments of the materials does not constitute a modification. Any commercial use and/or internal or external reproduction, distribution and publication must be approved by NCQA and are subject to a license at the discretion of NCQA. Except as otherwise permitted by NCQA, any use of the materials to identify records or calculate measure results requires a custom license and may necessitate certification pursuant to NCQA’s Measure Certification Program. Reprinted with permission by NCQA. © 2024 NCQA, all rights reserved.

Limited proprietary coding is contained in the measure specifications for convenience. NCQA disclaims all liability for use or accuracy of any third-party code values contained in the specifications.

CPT Copyright 2024 American Medical Association. All rights reserved. CPT® is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association. Applicable FARS/DFARS Restrictions Apply to Government Use. Fee schedules, relative value units, conversion factors and/or related components are not assigned by the AMA, are not part of CPT, and the AMA is not recommending their use. The AMA does not directly or indirectly practice medicine or dispense medical services. The AMA assumes no liability for data contained or not contained herein.

The CDC Race and Ethnicity code system was developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NCQA’s use of the code system does not imply endorsement by the CDC of NCQA, or its products or services. The code system is otherwise available on the CDC website for no charge.

Certain NullFlavor codes are owned and copyrighted by Health Level Seven International (HL7); 2024

The American Hospital Association holds a copyright to the Uniform Billing Codes (“UB”) contained in the measure specifications. The UB Codes in the HEDIS specifications are included with the permission of the AHA. All uses of the UB Codes may require a license from the AHA. Specifically, anyone desiring to use the UB Codes in a commercial product to generate HEDIS results, or for any other commercial use, must obtain a commercial use license directly from the AHA. To inquire about licensing, contact ub04@aha.org.

Health Care Provider Taxonomy Code Set codes copyright [current year] AMA. The codes are published in cooperation with the National Uniform Claim Committee (NUCC) by the AMAS. Applicable FARS/DFARS restrictions apply.

Measure Certification

The below Measure Certification Disclaimer must be displayed once on each (i) web page and (ii) in each printed Model document or related publication that displays results/rates from the Licensed Measure Specifications:

NCQA Measure Certification Disclaimer

Unadjusted Uncertified Measures: A calculated measure result (a “rate”) from a HEDIS measure that has not been certified via NCQA’s Measure Certification Program and is based on unadjusted HEDIS specifications may not be called a “Health Plan HEDIS rate” until it is audited and designated reportable by an NCQA-Certified HEDIS Compliance Auditor. Until such time, such measure rates shall be designated or referred to as “Uncertified, Unaudited Health Plan HEDIS Rates.”

Adjusted Uncertified Measures: A calculated measure result (a “rate”) from a HEDIS measure that has not been certified via NCQA’s Measure Certification Program, and is based on adjusted HEDIS specifications, may not be called an “Adjusted HEDIS rate” until it is audited and designated reportable by an NCQA-Certified HEDIS Compliance Auditor. Until such time, such measure rates shall be designated or referred to as “Adjusted, Uncertified, Unaudited HEDIS Rates.”

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